As the Kansas City Chiefs set to begin training camp in earnest, one injury of note has already registered with the news that defensive end Ethan Downs has suffered a torn ACL, per Chiefs Digest's Matt Derrick.
Downs injured his left knee a few days earlier as rookies and quarterbacks arrived ahead of veterans to St. Joseph for Chiefs camp at Missouri State Western University. The news will likely land him on injured reserve, although the Chiefs haven't yet made any official roster moves after the news broke.
Downs, who is 23 years old, entered the NFL as an undrafted free agent out of Oklahoma in 2025. The Jacksonville Jaguars signed him after the draft but waived him when active roster cuts were due. The Chiefs signed him to their practice squad two days later, and he eventually earned a promotion to the active roster on Christmas Eve.
Downs appeared in 1 game for the Chiefs, recording five tackles and a forced fumble while seeing time on both defense and special teams. As a three-year starter at Oklahoma from 2022 to 2024, Downs was a two-time second-team All-Big 12 selection with 32 career tackles for loss and 12.5 sacks for the Sooners.
Downs signed a two-year, $1.845 million contract with the Chiefs. Should the Chiefs decide to stash him away for the year to see what he might provide in the future, he's scheduled to be an exclusive rights free agent in 2027, which gives K.C. control for at least another year.
Derrick noted that Downs was a good bet to make the active roster at the end of the depth chart at tight end. That means the path is a bit more open for names like Tyreke Smith or rookie free agents like VJ Anthony or Anthony Dunn.
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